SALEM, VA – Virginia Wesleyan College narrowly edged Hampden-Sydney Basketball 77-74 in the ODAC Championship game on Sunday afternoon.

Virginia Wesleyan held a slim lead early on at 12-10 at 15:26, but a 9-0 run by the Marlins put them ahead 21-10 at 13:12. Hampden-Sydney answered with the next six points to trim the deficit down to 21-16 with 11:13 to go. Aaron Clark was fouled on a three-pointer on VWC's next possession, and he made all three to put the Marlins back ahead by eight at 10:49.

The Tigers then took control of the contest with a 12-3 surge to take their first lead of the game at 28-27 following a Mike Murray (Norfolk, VA / Norfolk Christian) three at the 5:25 mark. A Khobi Williamson (Norfolk, VA / Maury) layup followed by two Murray free throws pushed the advantage out to 32-27 at 4:04. The Tigers went cold from the field while the Marlins snapped their cold streak, and a Clark trifecta with 44 seconds to go gave Virginia Wesleyan a 36-34 lead going in to halftime.

Hampden-Sydney briefly took the lead on back-to-back scores to open the second half 38-36, but Khory Moore came down and drained a three to put the Marlins back up 39-38 and followed it with a steal and dunk.

The game was played within a six-point margin the entire second half. After a Moore layup gave the Marlins a 62-56 advantage at 6:31, the Tigers scored the next six points, highlighted by a thunderous Williamson put-back dunk to tie it. However, Williamson was called for a technical for hanging on the rim. Aaron Clark made both free throws and an H-SC foul put DJ Woodmore at the line for two shots and he made both to go up 66-62 at 4:57.

The Tigers came back to tie the game at 66-66 behind a Williamson FT and a JaVonte Reddick (Richmond, VA / L.C. Bird) three-point play at 4:07. Clark and Murray traded FTs to keep it tied at 68-68, but Hampden-Sydney fouls on consecutive possessions enabled the Marlins to go up by four on the back of free throws, 72-68, at the 2:44 mark.

Murray drew H-SC within two on a layup at 1:52, and a Colby Heard foul at the 57-second mark gave Williamson the chance to tie the game, but he missed the first and made the second. Clark missed a three pointer from the left corner, but Cameron Owens secured the offensive rebound and was fouled with 28 seconds remaining, and made both free throw shots. Murray turned over the ball on the next possession, and a Williamson foul sent Clark to the charity stripe for two shots with 16 seconds left as he made one of two.

The Tigers launched up a three quickly, but Mitch Owens (Williamsburg, VA / Walsingham) grabbed the rebound and passed it back behind the three point line for another three. The Tigers missed again, but Owens secured another offensive rebound and found Greg Lewis (Mechanicsville, VA / Hanover) for a three-pointer to make it a 75-74 deficit with 1.9 remaining. The Marlins inbounded the ball to Moore, and he was fouled with 1.5 left as he made both shots. Murray tossed up a heave from half court, however it came after the buzzer and didn't come close to going in even if it had come before the buzzer.

Murray and Williamson were named to the All-Tournament team. Murray scored a game-high 21 points as he shot 6-9 from the field and 8-9 from the free throw line. Williamson scored 14 points with 11 rebounds and set the ODAC record for made field goals in a single ODAC Tournament. Lewis tallied 13 points and four rebounds off the bench as he shot 3-4 from three point range.

Moore led VWC with 21 points while Clark posted 16 points and five assists. Woodmore posted 15 points and six caroms, Owens added on 12 points and five boards, and Heard tacked on 11 points and six rebounds.

The Tigers conclude their season with a 16-13 overall record and their first appearance in the ODAC Championship game since 2007.